Grilled Peach & Shrimp Salad

This grilled peach & shrimp salad has all the best flavors of summer. Juicy peaches, tender shrimp, crunchy cucumber and melt in your mouth goat cheese, topped with a decadent Rosé vinaigrette. Oh là là! So fancy that we named it after the French Riviera city of Saint-Tropez, yet it is really easy to make!

La Salade Tropezienne - a fancy Shrimp, Peach and Goat Cheese salad with a Rosé Vinaigrette

Do you want to learn to make a salad that looks, and tastes like it comes from a Michelin starred restaurant in the South of France? Let's do it! Here is a step by step guide to making La Salade Tropezienne - a fancy Shrimp, Peach and Goat Cheese salad with a Rosé Vinaigrette inspired by Saint-Tropez.

Click here if you love French Summer Salads. You will love this post with my 11 favorite French Summer Salad Recipes.

Saint-Tropez is the glitz and glamour capital of the French Riviera. Once a small fishing village in the Var, the medieval sea side town is now decorated with super yachts vintage convertibles. Made famous by Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, Eddy Barclay and iconic French stars of the sixties, Saint-Tropez is home to exclusive beach clubs, exquisite restaurants and surrounded by some of the best Rosé vineyards.

Le Chef and I have a special attachment to Saint-Tropez. He grew up in the Var and has the best memories of working in Saint-Tropez as a young Chef. When we lived together in the South of France we had many weekend getaways which I will never forget, though nothing compared to returning to Saint-Tropez in 2019 with our daughter, Valentina. We can't wait to go back!

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• 2 lbs of cooked Cocktail Shrimp (you know, like the ring you buy in the grocery store... trust me on this!)
• 6 fresh peaches (I like to use 3 white peaches for the salad and 3 yellow peaches - 2 for grilling, 1 for the vinaigrette)
• 2 mini cucumbers
• 4 oz of Goat Cheese (preferably honey goat cheese - I love the extra bit of sweetness)
• 1 lemon
• 4 branches of fresh lemon thyme (or plain thyme if you can't find lemon thyme)
• ½ cup of basil (you will need about 20 small leaves)
• ½ cup of cilantro - just the leaves

Rosé Vinaigrette:

• 3 tablespoon Olive Oil
• ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1.5 tablespoon Rosé Wine (preferably the same that you will enjoy with the salad!)
• ½ tablespoon lemon Juice
• 1 peach cut into small pieces
• Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Preparation:

This dish does not require much cooking and is much easier than you think to prepare. The beauty is all in the presentation...and the delicate balance of flavors.

First, preheat the oven to 425 F. If you have a grill pan (like this Le Creuset I love), place it in the oven as it heats to get nice grill marks on the peaches.. You can also use a standard cookie sheet too - let it get nice and hot before adding the peaches.

Note: The BBQ works brilliantly for grilling peaches too.

Wash and pat dry your herbs. Set them aside.

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Shrimp, peach and goat cheese salad

Prepare the shrimp. Remove the tails, peel if needed, and slice the cooked shrimp in half, length wise. You can use grilled shrimp if you like, however I prefer the poached shrimp for their delicate flavor and texture in this dish.

Now, let's begin plating. Lay your plates out next to your work station so that you can add ingredients and build your dish as you go.

First, place the shrimp directly on the center of the plate, dividing evenly between the four plates, cut side down. Place in a circular formation, being careful not to pile up the shrimp. You want to build a flat base for the rest of the salad

Break apart small pieces of the goat cheese and sprinkle over each plate of shrimp, randomly.

Cut your mini cucumbers in half length wise, then slice on the diagonal for thin, diagonally sliced half moon shapes.

I like to place some of the cucumber slices on the goat cheese, pointing up to add more height variations to the dish. Sprinkle the rest around the center of each plate.

Now, take the three white peaches peaches and cut into thin slices. Spread the slices between the plates, laying the flat over the salad.

Using your fingernails, scrape the leaves off the lemon thyme and sprinkle over each dish.

Grilling the Peaches

By now, your oven should be hot enough to roast the yellow peaches. Take two of the peaches and cut them in each in half, and remove the pit.

Very carefully remove the grill pan from the oven and set on a heat safe surface. Lay the peach halves (flesh side down) directly on the grill pan and return to the oven for five minutes only to get nice grill marks! Set the timer - my tip is to always set the timer!

While the peaches are cooking, let's make the Peach Rosé vinaigrette.

Peach Rosé Vinaigrette

In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, Rosé wine , pepper and salt.

Dice the remaining yellow peach into small cubes. Add to the vinaigrette. Stir.

Taste a little bit and adjust the pepper as needed. Yummy!

Finishing the salad

Once the peaches are done, remove them from the oven or BBQ and let cool for a couple minutes before slicing each half into quarters.

Gently lay the quarters onto each plate.

Spoon the peach Rosé vinaigrette over each salad.

Place the basil leaves and cilantro leaves delicately over each plate.

For the finishing touch, zest one lemon (I use my Microplane zester for this) evenly over the 4 dishes. Lime zest is also delicious over this dish.

Voilà! An incredibly delicious, fancy restaurant worthy dish that you can make at home in under 20 minutes. Serve with a fresh baked baguette and a glass of Rosé wine.

Wine Pairing for a shrimp, peach and goat cheese salad

So many delicious Rosé wines that we enjoy in the USA actually come from just outside of Saint-Tropez. I really enjoy Château Minuty, Château les Valentines, Château de Berne and Whispering Angel. Provençal Rosé is known for being fruity but delightfully crisp and light at the same time.

Serving Suggestions

This grilled peach & shrimp salad is a complete meal for a light lunch but also can be a delicious starter for a dinner party.

I would suggest serving Lemon Thyme roast Chicken (Poulet Rôti) or else Fresh Figs Duck Magret as a main dish.

I hope you have enjoyed recipe #4 of the #saladsaturdayseries, La Tropezienne - a fancy shrimp, peach and goat cheese salad with a Rosé Vinaigrette.

First Week: La Salade Niçoise

Second Week: La Salade Parisienne

Third Week: La Salade Lyonnaise

Fourth Week: La Tropezienne

Fifth Week: La Mentonnaise

Please share your salad recipes with me using the hashtag on instagram or commenting below. I love to hear from you!

Au Plaisir,

Le Chef's Wife

ABOUT LE CHEF'S WIFE

Bonjour! I am Anina Belle. I translate the fancy cooking of my Michelin-star trained French Chef Husband, Le Chef, into easy to make dishes that busy people with no culinary training (like me!) can make at home. We have two young kids (5 and 2) and I have a full time job in hospitality in addition to this blog. I strongly believe that even busy people deserve to eat well at home.

Look inside our Kitchen with this recent Washington Post Article. We were recently featured on the TODAY SHOW for our recipes of French Onion Soup Gratinée and Moelleux au Chocolat. You can watch our full segment here:

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